Comparison of some newspaper sizes with metric paper sizes. Approximate nominal dimensions are in millimetres.

Many broadsheets measure approximately 291⁄2 by 231⁄2 inches (749 by 597 mm) per full broadsheet spread, twice the size of a standard tabloid. Australian and New Zealand broadsheets always have a paper size of A1 per spread (841 by 594 mm or 33.1 by 23.4 in). South African broadsheet newspapers have a double-page spread sheet size of 820 by 578 mm or 32.3 by 22.8 in (single-page live print area of 380 x 545 mm). Others measure 22 inches or 560 millimetres vertically.

In the United States, the traditional dimensions for the front page half of a broadsheet are 15 inches (381 mm) wide by 223⁄4 inches (578 mm) long. However, in efforts to save newsprint costs many U.S. newspapers [1] have downsized to 12 inches (305 mm) wide by 223⁄4 inches (578 mm) long for a folded page.[2][3][dead link]

Many rate cards and specification cards refer to the "broadsheet size" with dimensions representing the front page "half of a broadsheet" size, rather than the full, unfolded broadsheet spread. Some quote actual page size and others quote the "printed area" size.

The two versions of the broadsheet are:

Full broadsheet – The full broadsheet typically is folded vertically in half so that it forms four pages (the front page front and back and the back page front and back). The four pages are called a spread. Inside broadsheets are nested accordingly.

Half broadsheet – The half broadsheet is usually an inside page that is not folded vertically and just includes a front and back.

In uncommon instances, an entire newspaper can be a two-page half broadsheet or four-page full broadsheet. Totally self-contained advertising circulars inserted in a newspaper in the same format are referred to as broadsheets.

Broadsheets typically are also folded horizontally in half to accommodate newsstand display space. The horizontal fold however does not affect the page numbers and the content remains vertical. The most important newspaper stories are placed "above the (horizontal) fold." This contrasts with tabloids which typically do not have a horizontal fold (although tabloids usually have the four page to a sheet spread format).

The broadsheet, broadside, was used as a format for musical and popular prints in the 17th century.
Eventually the people began using the broadsheet as a source for political activism by reprinting speeches.

Broadsheet newspapers developed after the British in 1712 placed a tax on newspapers based on the number of their pages. Larger formats, however, had long been signs of status in printed objects, and still are in many places, and outside Britain the broadsheet developed for other reasons, including style and authority, unrelated to the British tax structure.

With the early mechanization of the 19th century came an increased production of printed materials including the broadside as well as the competing penny dreadful. In this period newspapers all over Europe began to print their issues on broadsheets. However, in the United Kingdom, the main competition for the broadside was the gradual reduction of the newspaper tax, beginning in the 1830s, and eventually its dismissal in 1855.[4]

With the increased production of newspapers and literacy, the demand for visual reporting and journalists led to the blending of broadsides and newspapers, creating the modern broadsheet newspaper.

Modern printing facilities most efficiently print broadsheet sections in multiples of eight pages (with four front pages and four back pages). The broadsheet is then cut in half during the process. Thus the newsprint rolls used are defined by the width necessary to print four front pages. The width of a newsprint roll is called its web. Thus the new 12-inch-wide front page broadsheet newspapers in the United States use a 48-inch web newsprint roll.

With profit margins narrowing for newspapers in the wake of competition from broadcast, cable television, and the internet, newspapers are looking to standardize the size of the newsprint roll. The Wall Street Journal with its 12-inch wide frontpage was printed on 48-inch web newsprint. Early adopters in the downsizing of broadsheets used a 50-inch web (​121⁄2-inch front pages). However the 48-inch web is now rapidly becoming the definitive standard in the U.S. The New York Times held out on the downsizing until July 2006, saying it would stick to its 54-inch web (​131⁄2-inch front page)[citation needed]. However, the paper adopted the narrower format beginning Monday, 6 August 2007.

The smaller newspapers also have the advantage of being easier to handle, particularly among commuters.

In some countries, especially Australia, Canada, the UK, and the U.S., broadsheet newspapers are commonly perceived to be more intellectual in content than their tabloid counterparts. They tend to use their greater size to publish stories exploring topics in depth, while carrying less sensationalist and celebrity-oriented material. This distinction is most obvious on the front page: whereas tabloids tend to have a single story dominated by a headline, broadsheets allow two or more stories to be displayed, of which the most important sit at the top of the page—"above the fold". In other countries, such as Spain, a small format is the universal standard for newspapers—a popular, sensational press has had difficulty taking root—and the tabloid size does not carry pejorative connotations.

On the other hand, a few newspapers, such as the German Bild-Zeitung and others throughout central Europe are clearly tabloids in terms of content, but use the physical broadsheet format.

In 2003, The Independent started concurrent production of both broadsheet and tabloid ("compact") editions, carrying exactly the same content. The Times did likewise, but with less apparent success, with readers vocally opposing the change. The Independent ceased to be available in broadsheet format in May 2004, and The Times followed suit from November 2004; The Scotsman is also now published only in tabloid format. The Guardian switched to the "Berliner" or "midi" format found in some other European countries (slightly larger than a traditional tabloid) on 12 September 2005. It was announced in June 2017 that the Guardian would again change format to tabloid size – the first tabloid edition was published on 15 January 2018.

The main motivation cited for this shift is that commuters prefer papers which they can hold easily on public transport, and it is presumably hoped that other readers will also find the smaller formats more convenient.

In the United States, The Wall Street Journal made headlines when it announced its overseas version would convert to a tabloid on 17 October 2005.[5] There was strong debate in the U.S. on whether or not the rest of the national papers will, or even should, follow the trend of the British papers and The Wall Street Journal.[6]The Wall Street Journal overseas edition switched back to a broadsheet format in 2015.[7][8]

Newspapers such as New Straits Times and Berita Harian used to be published in broadsheet, but were published in smaller size instead, from 2005 and 2008, respectively. However, almost all Chinese newspapers in the country continue to publish in broadsheet.

The first major Swedish newspaper to leave the broadsheet format and start printing in tabloid format was Svenska Dagbladet, on 16 November 2000. As of August 2004, there were 26 broadsheet newspapers in total, with a combined circulation of 1,577,700 and 50 newspapers in tabloid with a combined circulation of 1,129,400. On 5 October 2004, the morning newspapers Göteborgs-Posten, Dagens Nyheter, Sydsvenskan and Östersunds-Posten all switched to tabloid, thus making it the leading format for morning newspapers in Sweden by volume of circulation. Most other broadsheet newspapers have followed since. The last daily Swedish newspaper to switch to tabloid was Jönköpings-Posten, 6 November 2013.[14]